Marvelous Martabak Telur

Marvelous Martabak…mmm. I know I’ve talked about my LOVE for Indonesian food before, and especially Indonesian street food. But really, who can get enough of the deliciousness of the HUGE variety of Indonesian cuisine that is available from across the Indonesian archipelago?! I certainly can’t! There is endless ‘enak-ness’ to enjoy! 😉

It is said that martabak orinates from Yemen and the Middle East, where it is known as ‘mutabbaq’. Fortunately, due to the trade routes, martabak spread to other parts of the world such as; India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia. Depending on the location, its name and ingredients significantly vary. The name ‘mutabbaq’ in Arabic means ‘folded’.

In Indonesia, the martabak or murtabak is one of the most popular street foods. There are two Indonesian versions of Martabak; a sweet one, which is martabak manis or terang bulan as it’s known in some parts of Indonesia and there is also a savoury one; martabak telor or martabak telur. I LOVE them both and they are always on my list of things to do when I visit Indonesia. I always make sure I squeeze in some martabak on my travels. Honestly, there is nothing better than hunting down a kaki lima in a little alley way or at a night market and having a late night snack of martabak manis…all that buttery, chocolatey goodness! OMG!

But today I’m focussing on the savoury version, the marvelous martabak telur. Another great Indonesian street food snack that can be easily taught to Primary school students {or Secondary students, of course}, it’s so simple to make.

Let’s take a look at the recipe.

MARTABAK TELUR

Ingredients:

500 grams of minced meat {I use minced beef}

4 eggs

1 bunch of spring onions

2 shallots

1 onion {red or brown onion}

4 cloves of garlic

1-2 teaspoons of curry powder

1/2 cup of water

salt & pepper to season

oil for frying

1-2 fresh chillies {optional}

1 pack of fresh roti canai {you can also make your own bread dough but to make life easy, especially when cooking with primary students, I suggest buying the fresh roti canai}

Method:

1.Finely cut the garlic, spring onions, shallots and onion. Sauté all these ingredients in a shallow pan with some oil.

2. Add the minced beef {or minced meat of your choice} until browned. Add salt and pepper to season and the curry powder until combined and aromatic. Once the minced meat is browned, add 1/2 cup of water and reduce the liquid in the mixture. You can also add the fresh chillies at this stage, if you choose to. *I don’t normally add chillies when cooking this with Primary students.

3. Remove the meat and onions from the pan and allow to cool.

4. Beat eggs in a jug. Add eggs to the meat mixture once it has cooled.

5. In a clean pan, heat oil and put the roti in the pan, spoon meat and egg mixture on top of the roti and fold the roti over the top of the meat mixture {like a sandwich}. Cook the roti until browned on one side and then turn/flip over the roti and brown the other side. Once the roti is browned on both sides and the egg mixture is cooked, remove from the pan.

Click here to download a pdf copy of the recipe in bahasa Indonesia & English.

And there you have it, simple martabak telur that you can cook with your students. You can’t really fail, its easy and will please most foodie enthusiasts! I’ve cooked this many times with students and also for myself at home. It’s also great for students to share the recipe with their family and try cooking it at home.

TIP: If you happen to not eat it all {which is pretty hard not to do!} you can freeze it for another day. I defrost mine in the microwave and then re-heat it in my Breville Griller/Toaster, it makes the roti go all crispy again. Yum!

Do you love martabak? Which one is your favourite, sweet or savoury?

Have you ever made martabak?

Have you included cooking martabak in your Indonesian Language Program?

Do you have any other Indonesian street food favourites that you have cooked with your students?